Crossing-gate



V. B. TAYLOR.

CROSSING GATE.

APPLICATION man JAN. 3 1919.

Patented June 10, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 3 n4: mmms PETERS co. Pwowumm. WASHING mu, m c.

V. B TAYLOR.

CROSSING GATE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 3, m9.

153%,933 Patented June 10, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

VAN B. TAYLOR, 0F KINGMAN, INDIANA.

CROSSING-GATE.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VAN B. TAYLOR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kingman, in the county of Fountain and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Crossing-Gates, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to gates, and more especially to those which are mechanically operated and interconnected. The gates serve as automatic signals intended for use at a highway crossing; and the broad object of the invention is to produce a signal system of this kind wherein the gates are automatically set across the highway by the approaching train and are allowed to open by the train and at the time it crosses the highway.

A further object is to attach the system to a railway line having a plurality of tracks.

A further object is to permit the operation of the mechanism by a train moving in either direction. v

A further object is to permit the closing of one pair of gates manually when the system is not actuated by a train.

A yet further object is to avoid dislocation of the system by a train which approaches the highway but does not proceed to a point where it will release the gates.

Other objects will appear in the following specification and claims, and reference is made to the drawings wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view of a stretch of railway and a highway crossing the same, with my invention applied.

Fig. 2 is a detail of the contact on the cab of a locomotive.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view through the casing, showing the interior mechanism and the connection of the two shafts.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation, and

Fig. 5 is an edge view partly in section of the trip mechanism.

Fig. 6 is a sectional detail on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3.

Figs. 7 and 8 are details of the mechanism within one pair of the stands which support the gates.

Fig. 9 is a horizontal section on the line 99 of Fig. 7

As shown in Fig. 1, an ordinary highway H crosses a railway R, herein illustrated as made up of four tracks, and at the point of crossing are gates G of any appropriate Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 10, 1919.

Application filed January 3, 1919. Serial No. 269,511.

type mounted in stands S and capable of being swung down toward each other in pairs to close the highway to traffic while the train is passing. Broadly speaking the purpose ofthe present invention is to permit an approaching train which is typified in Fig. 2 by the locomotive L to close these gates in advance of itself, and then to open them as it crosses the highway and passes on. The s stem by which this idea is carried out wi 1 now be described.

A main shaft is shown in Fig. 1 as leadmg from the farther side of the railway R alongside the highway H toward the reader and connecting two stands S, pass ing meanwhile through a casing 12 whose details are best seen in Fig. 3. Within the stands this shaft is connected to two gates G in a manner yet to be described, and these gates may be connected to companion gates on their respective sides of the railway in a manner also yet to be described. However, it is possible the last named gates might be omitted, and either of the first two gates could be omitted although I have illustrated and described the system as applied to four gates at the point where th highway rosses the railway. The gates themselves may be of an appropriate type, and I have shown them herein as consisting each of a long bar of rather light structure pivoted within the stand and continued beyond the pivot in a short arm carrying a weight TV which is sufliciently heavy to cause the gate to stand normally upright. A main spring 3 (see Fig. 9) is attached at one end to the main shaft and at the other end at the point f to one of the stands S, and this spring is sufficiently powerful to overcome the weight on the gate or the weights on all the gates, if they are used as herein described, and cause them to swing downward to a horizontal position. Thus it will be seen that it is necessary for the system to include means whereby a passing train permits the spring to act, and when it reaches the highway the train must re-coil the spring'and permit the weights on the gates to cause them to resume their upright position. Hereinafter I will call the first action the tripping and the second action the setting mechanism, the latter being within the casing and the former at some distance up the track way. A sleeve 5 surrounds the main shaft and has rigidly mounted thereon a number of fingers 6, one of these standing adjacent one rail of each track, and Fig. 1 shows that th railway in the present instance is made up of four tracks. WVhat might be called the master finger 7 is forked at its lower end as shown in Fig. 6 and one fork-arm is attached to the sleeve while the other fork arm is attached to a collar 8 on the main shaft 1, the fork itself standing astride the casing 2 through the casing 2, but the arms of this fork are fast on the shaft 11 direct, as said shaft has no sleeve.

The fork of each master finger has a cross bar 12 passing through curved slots in the walls of the casing, and beneath said cross bar is a spring 13 resting on a shelf 14, the purpose of this detail bemg to hold the tip of the finger normally a little above its extreme lowest position, so that the contact C on an approaching locomotive L may engage one finger and carry it over toward the center of the casing, and-then pass on and over the other finger and depress it slightly, without injury to either. As the two shafts are connected by mechanism next to be described, it is obvious that in whichever direction the contact is moved, it must swing one finger inward and then pass over the other; therefore, only one pair of shafts is necessary and on one side of the highway, and yet provision is made for trains moving in either direction and on any of the several tracks. Restoring springs 18 and 19 respectively connect the forks of the master fingers 7 and 17 with the casing 2, to throw these fingers outward or normally to the positions indicated in Figs. 1 and 3 so that after the train has passed on the cross bar 12 of each fork will rest upon its spring 13.

Mutilated gears 28 and 29 are respectively mounted upon the shafts 1 and 11, each having about one-third of its periphery toothed and the teeth engaging each other. The rear teeth 22 rest normally against the cross bars 12. One gear, as that numbered 29 may have a slot 23 engaging a pin 24 across the casing to positively limit its movement, or in other words to restrict the are through which it may turn in either direction, and this pin in Fig. 3 is shownat the extremity of the slot so that the gear 29 may'not turn farther to the left even though the tip of the fork be yet farther depressed. Asthis gear is in mesh with the other, its pin-andslot connection with the casing will hold the other gear against further outward movement. So also the intermeshing of the teeth causes the turning of one gear inward when the other is turned. A tooth or catch 20 projects from the periphery of one gear and is engaged by a latch 21 borne normally toward the smooth edge of this gear by a spring 25 as shown, and chains or wires 26 and 27 lead from the extremities of this latch in both directions for a considerable distance along the railway R and to the trip mechanism'yet to be described. lVhen the gears are turned inward far enough for the catch to engage the latch, it is obvious that they will remain in that position until unlatched or tripped, and when so tripped, the uncoiling tendency of the main spring turns the main shaft in a direction to restore the gears to the normal position shown in. Fig.

The trip mechanism is best illustrated in detail in Figs. 4 and 5. A shaft 31 extends across the railway and carries a number of duplicate fingers and one finger which may be called the master finger 37 which is mounted on the shaft within a casing'32 and held in normal upright position by a restoring spring 38, as shown in Fig. 5. To the lower end of this finger is attached one of the wires 26 or 27 Its upper portion rises above the casing and is connected to the lower portion by a rule joint 35 and the two portions held normally upright by the spring 38. When now the contact C on a locomotive strikes the upper end of the master finger, or of any of the fingers, if moving to the left in Fig. 1 and the tripfinger is turned on its pivot which is the shaft 31 and its lower end gives an impulse to the wire 26 or 27; then the contact C passes along over the settingmechanism described above and. when it reaches the trip finger at the other side of the highway, it passes idly over the upper portion of the corresponding finger because of the presence of the rule joint 35 and spring It follows therefore that a train-approaching on any track'of the railway will first actuate the trip mechanism and allow the main spring to set the gates G across the highway, then when it reaches the highway the contact Cwill pick up one of the fingers 6 or 7 and actuate the setting mechanism, or in other words restore the tension of the main spring and permit the weight W on the gate to set the latter again'upright, and finally as the train passes the other trip mechanism it does nothing.

I have stated that I'do not wish to be limited to the form of gates employed, and that one gate, or two or four may be used. If a pair of gates be employed, the pair in the background of Fig. 1 might well be connectcd in the same manner as the gates in Figs. 7 and 8. That is to say, on the shaft of the gate is fixed a pulley 10 over which is wound a cord 41 leading downward around one groove in a double drum a2 journaled in the stand S. From the other groove in the same drum, another cord 43 leads across and beneath the highway H around a pulley 44 in the opposite switch stand S, and upward and around a pulley 45 fast on the shaft of the companion gate Gr. It will now be obvious that when the double drum 42 is turned in the proper direction both cords 41 and 43 will be drawn and the arms of both gates Gr and G swung downward against the tendency of ,the weights W. Buffer springs 46 and 47 may be inserted in the stands to hold the gate-arms horizontal and cushion the impact in case they are closed rather suddenly. l/Vhen the power which turns the drum in this direction is released, it is obvious that both gates will automatically resume their vertical position as shown in Fig. 1. I need hardly add that the connection between the two gates in the foreground of the last named view may be and probably will be exactly the same, and

therefore when four'gates are employed instead of two, the action is mere amplifia cation of that set forth. 7

Occasions occur when it is desirable to close the gate or gates without awaiting the approach of a locomotive bearing the contact C; for instance, it may be a hand car or some other piece of rolling stock which is not equipped with a contact, and

it is desirable to have means whereby the gates can be actuated manually. "While I do not wish to be limited strictly to the details of this feature, with the construction of parts as already above described, one satisfactory means for providing for manual control is as follows :At one end (or it might be at each end) of the main shaft 1 where the double drum occurs within the switch stand S, it is connected with the shaft in such manner as to permit a certain lost motion. As herein shown, the drum has a curved slot 52 engaged by a pin 51 ina disk 50 fast on the shaft, the

disk preferably moving in a suitable opening within one wall of the stand S. A sleeve 53 encirclesthe-stub end of the shaft and projects through the other wall of the stand S where it carries a handle 54 so that it may be manipulated manually, and on this sleeve the drum is keyed as at 55. WVith this construction, any impulse imparted to the shaft in the proper direction by the passing train turns the disk 50'and moves its pin 51 in the direction of the ar row in Fig. 7 and sets the gates across the roadway as above described. But if it is desired to set the gate when no train is approaching, then the crank handle 54 is grasped and turned to move the double drum 42 in the same direction, and the result is the same on the gate, although the shaft 1 has not been turned at all Howclosed, whereas the closing of the gate by thehandle does not actuate the latch mechanism and the gate must be reset by hand instead of by the passing train. I repeat that this specific means for actuating the device manually is not necessarily em.- ployed, although I consider it well adapted to the form of gate illustrated and a valuable adjunct to the primary features of the invention. Of course if all gates were connected with the operating drum ordrums 4:2 by cords as described, it would be a simple matter for an operator to merely bear down on the arm of any gate and hold it across the roadway; but the manual mechanism just described would close all four gates by the partial turn of a single crank.

The foregoing description and drawings have reference towhat may be considered the preferred, or approved form of my invention. It is to be understood that I may make such changes in construction and ar rangement and combination of parts, materials, dimensions, et eetera, as may prove expedient and fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and useful and desire, to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a gate of the type described, the combination with a stand, the gate proper having a long arm and a shorter arm weighted to hold the longer arm normally upright, a pivot through the stand, and a bufier spring carried by the stand to limit the descent of the longerarm; of a pulley fast on said pivot, and mechanism mounted at a lower point within the stand and connected with said pulley for closing the gate and, raising its weighted arm and the reverse. c

2. In agate of the type described, the combination with a stand, the gate proper having a long arm and a short arm weighted to hold the longearm. normally upright, and a pivot through the stand; of a pulley fast on the pivot of the gate, a second pulley mounted in the stand at a lower point, a shaft connected with said pulley, a main spring coiled on and connected with the: shaft at one end and with the stand at the other end and sufficiently strong to overcome the weight and close the gates, and means for turning saidshaft to store energy in the spring and for releasing it mechanically.

3. In a gate of the type described, the. combination with a stand, the gate proper having a long arm and a short arm weighted to hold the longer arm normally upright, and a pivot through the stand; of a posite sides of the railway and on one side of the highway, a shaft connecting them, a companion shaft alongside the first-named shaft, gears connecting the shafts, fingers mounted loosely on said shafts and projecting obliquely alongside a rail in opposite directions, for setting the gates to open position, latch mechanism for holdingthe gears in this position, and trip mechanism at a distant point alongside a railadapted to be engaged by 'a contact on an approaching train for permitting the gates to assume a closed position.

5. In a railway gate system for highway crossings, the combination with pivoted gates at opposite sides of the railway, weight-s throwing them normally open, a shaft connecting them, a companion shaft alongside the first-named shaft, gears connecting the shafts, and fingers mounted loosely on said shafts and projecting obliquely alongside a rail in opposite direc- 1 tions; of a main spring attached to one of said shafts and put under tension when any finger is moved inward and the gates allowed to open, latch mechanism holding said spring under tension, and trip mechanism at remote points alongside the rail and adapted to be struck by a contact on an approaching locomotive for releasing said latch and permitting the act. 1 t

6. In a gate actuating mechanism, the combination with a normally open gate, a shaft connected therewith, a main'spring normally turning the shaft to close the gate,

a companion shaft, gears on the shafts intermeshing with each-other, latch mechanism engaging one of said gears, and trip mechanism for the latch mechanism at a remote point; of fingers carried'by said shafts and main spring to' projecting normally obliquely in opposite directions, master fingers connected with said other fingers and having forks passing shaft connected therewith, a main sprlng,

normally turning the shaft to close the gate, a companion shaft gear'ed'to-the first shaft, latch mechanism engaging one of the gears for holding themain spring under tension,

and remote trip mechanism for said latch mechanism; of a sleeve loose on the first shaft and carrying a number of fingers, a master finger fast on this sleeve and having a cross bar engaging one of said gears, a second set'of fingers on the second shaft, the gearing being such that the main spring throws the fingers normally away from each other onoblique lines, and means for supporting them within the' path of a contact on a locomotive.

8. Ina mechanism of thetype described, the combination with a casing adapted to stand alongside a rail, a pair of shafts journaled in said casing, gates connected with the extremities of the main shaft, means throwing said gates normally open, and a main spring coiled on the shaft and of sufficient strength to OVGICOIHG said means and close the gates; of'a pair'of mutilated gears faston said shafts within the casing, fingers having forked inner. ends passing astride respectively over said gears, springs throwv the 'casing' and loosely mounted onv said 7 shafts, cross bars within said forks passing through curved slot-s in the casing and and distant trip mechanism for operating said latch. a

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

VAN B. TAYLOR.

Witnesses: 1

ATHA WEAVER, E. P. Boon.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by' addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

